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Region of Lewis and Harris island, Scotland
Photo: Nachosan, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lewis and Harris are a single large island in the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles of Scotland. It's the third largest island in the British Archipelago, only Great Britain and Ireland being larger. Lewis (Gaelic Leòdhas) makes up the northern two-thirds, and is low-lying, with a population of almost 20,000 in 2011. Harris to the south is rugged. Only in modern times were they connected by road: historically you could only travel from one to the other by boat, as if they were individual islands. Moreover their transport links were to different mainland ports, and they became parts of separate counties (Ross and Cromarty for Lewis until 1975).
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On A858 is a monument to a failed attempt in 1850 to turn these peat bogs into arable farmland. A settlement was built near the existing village of Lochganvich, but within a year all the settlers had despaired and left.
Iconic of Lewis, this is the chief circle ("Callanish I") of an extensive ritual landscape. It was erected some time 2900-2600 BC and is an irregular circle of 13 stones surrounding a monolith, with a cross of avenues or aligned stones radiating. A chambered tomb within the circle was added later: it was only discovered when 19th-century peat-cutting revealed the true height of the stones. They're of local gneiss and have no obvious astronomical alignment.
A broch or round tower built around 200 BC and inhabited until 1000 AD; it was a hideout of cattle thieves in the 17th century. Parts of the broch walls still reach their original height of 9 m.
A village of blackhouses occupied until the 1970s. Nine have been restored: one as a hostel and others as self-catering cottages, see Sleep. The one you visit is a museum showing village life circa 1960, not long after electricity reached the area.
Two thatched buildings that have been "netted" and the nets weighted with stones to keep the roof from being ripped away by high winds. The larger is a kiln for drying grain, so it operated at relatively low temperature, whereas the heat of a pottery kiln would make short work of a thatched building. The smaller is a click mill or Norse mill, where the waterwheel is set horizontally in the flow of a mill lade. This means it doesn't need gears, but directly drives grindstones to render wheat into flour. It was used into the 1930s, restored in 1968 and again in 1996. Use the parking lot on the main road and follow the track a quarter-mile north.
Blackhouses like these were the traditional dwellings of this island where timber was scarce but stones and thatch were plentiful. People and animals shared the interior, with a fug from the peat fire that must never be allowed to go out. Opposite is the "white house" occupied from the 1920s, thereafter the blackhouse was used as the cattle byre until the 1960s. The site is closed each September for re-thatching.
Comunn Eachdraidh Nis
Local history museum, archive and cafe.
Small history museum and cafe. Balallan village straggles for four miles along Loch Erisort, so the crofters each had access to their own beach to draw up boats, and a strip of grazing and vegetable patch behind.
is at the boundary of Lewis and Harris. After his defeat at Culloden, the Prince's first escape attempt brought him to the Outer Hebrides in hopes of a passage to France, but it proved a dangerous dead-end. On 4 May 1746 he landed with a few supporters in Harris and hiked overnight to Stornoway. No "speed bonny boat" for him there, the town was hostile, but he was able to sail south to the Uists then back to Skye thence to the Scottish mainland.
It is a cafe on the Point, a quarter-mile past Ui church.
Quirky cafe for light bites. Gallan Head beyond is disfigured by an old radar station, which is being dismantled with the intention of creating a bird observatory. Cash only.
Great dining and views over the beach, open Apr-Oct, booking essential. Assistance dogs only. They also have four rooms (See Sleep).
Located within Callanish Standing Stones Visitor Centre. Reopening to the public in 2025.
Beach cabin serving fish & chips.
Old Barn Bar
Good pub grub, dog-friendly. The bar serves M-Sa until 11PM. They also have rooms.
formerly Cafe Sonas
Pleasant seafood restaurant and coffee shop, does takeaway.
In the 17th century, Martin Martin reported that two spoonfuls was the maximum safe dose of whisky in these isles: "If any man exceed this, it would presently stop his breath and endanger his life." Maybe it was the adverse publicity, more likely it was the competition from Islay and Speyside, but Lewis ceased to make whisky for 200 years. This distillery, set up in an abandoned fish farm, began production in 2009, so they now have a ten-year malt. It's described as fruity, like schnapps, with a hint of barbecued fish. That'll be from the fish barrels used for maturation; it improves with a little water.
Clean friendly camping and caravan site open Apr-Sep, with kitchen, showers and WiFi. Dog-friendly.
Two shepherd's huts sleeping two and 3 wigwam cabins sleeping four. No camping or caravan pitches.
Modern hostel open Apr-Oct. As it is small and sometimes booked out by groups, advance booking is recommended. Camping also available.
8-bed hostel, plus a private room in The Bothy. Open all year, minimum stay 2 nights. In 2023 the dorm is only available for exclusive rental.
10-bed hostel in a restored village of traditional blackhouses. The other blackhouses are now self-catering cottages, plus a museum. No arrivals on a Sunday.
50-pitch campsite for tents and motorhomes by the beach, open May-Sept. Toilets and coin operated showers.
Restful 6-roomed place two miles from Callanish Stones, open Apr-Oct.
Comfy 3-room B&B on Tarbert-Stornoway road open March-Oct.
Attractively decorated four room guest house open Feb-Sept. Offers hot breakfast every day and Sunday evening cold meals. Minimum stay 2 nights, no pets or children under 14.
Delightful guesthouse by the beach with fine dining, open Feb-Oct. Pets allowed but no young children.
9-room country house hotel with bar and restaurant, open Apr-Oct.
16-room hotel with restaurant and bar.
Pleasant six-room hotel open March-Oct, new owners in 2023, plus restaurant. Assistance dogs only.
Great welcome and comfort at this 3-bedroom B&B open April-Oct.
Located a short walk from the Uig Sands Restaurant, the rooms have a view of the ocean and each booking comes with a reservation at the restaurant. Dogs allowed for a fee.
Shop and Post Office.
Shop, post office, laundrette and free ATM. Petrol and diesel with out-of-hours payment terminal.
Small shop, it no longer has a filling station.
Shop and filling station, and best of all they have worms for fishing.
Licensed grocer and hardware store. The butcher makes his own black, white and fruit puddings.
By plane
Stornoway Airport (SYY), 2 miles east of town, has daily flights by Loganair from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Benbecula. See Stornoway#Get in for airport practicalities.
By bus
There are 3 or 4 buses M-Sa between Harris and Lewis.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Stornoway, Western Isles · Regional · SYY
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